Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said her government would allow some activities in Covid red zones by splitting such districts into three zones as the state wanted to strike a balance between life and livelihood.

“Red zones will be divided into three categories — A, B and C. The police would finalise the divisions and submit a report by May 15. Once we receive the report, we will take decisions,” the chief minister told a news conference at Nabanna.

The relaxations are scheduled to come into force from May 21.

In Red Zone A, nothing will be allowed. In Red Zone B, activities which would not aggravate the situation will be allowed. Social distancing and other protocols would be mandatory at the facilities that would be allowed to operate in the areas, said the chief minister.

“In Red Zone C, which is outside the containment zones and outside the barricade, some activities will be allowed,” Mamata said.

Ten Bengal districts — Calcutta, Howrah, North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, West Midnapore, East Midnapore, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong and Malda — currently fall in the red zone categorised by the Centre.

Restaurants — confined to takeaway services — jewellery stores and film-related technical functions might be allowed in the red zones.

The chief minister said the relaxations in the red zones would be allowed after ensuring that they would not aggravate the situation in the sensitive areas.

On April 27, Mamata had said her government was preparing a plan to continue with “special measures” in the containment zones till May 21.

Although the chief minister did not specify the criteria for each segment in the red zones, government officials said that would depend on the number of Covid-19 positive cases reported from a particular area.

“If positive cases are being reported on a regular basis from a containment zone, it would fall in the A category. If a containment zone does not report any positive case for a certain period, say two weeks, it would fall in the B category. The rest of the district would fall in the C category,” said an official.

“It has been noticed that the majority of the positive cases are being reported from containment zones already identified. If some activities are allowed outside the areas, it would help people earn their livelihood,” said an official.

Mamata explained why she was set to take such a decision.

“Corona was there, it is there and it will be there. The Prime Minister also said yesterday that we would not get rid of this quickly. In the coming days we have to work with Corona. It does not seem that it would go away right now,” said the chief minister.

The chief minister said restaurants could be allowed to run takeaway services in red zones, in addition to establishments like jewellery shops. The facilities could be allowed to operate between 12 noon and 6pm.

Some other activities, she said, like editing, dubbing and mixing for film and television activities could be allowed. Activities in the ports could also be allowed, she said.

“Nothing is finalised. Everything would be finalised once the police submit their report. The chief minister outlined some activities that could be allowed as social distancing and other Covid-19 protocols could be maintained in the facilities,” said an official.

The state government has already allowed standalone shops across the state that sell electrical goods, mobile phones, paint, hardware and other non-essential items to function.